National Party Building Research Association: Further Improve the Ideological Guidance and Service Integration for New Employment Groups
General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "We must pay close attention to the development of new business forms, persist in combining online and offline efforts, and do a good job in the ideological guidance, cohesion, and service of new employment groups, so as to continuously consolidate the class basis, mass basis, and social basis of the Party's governance." The Suggestions of the Fourth Plenary Session of its 20th Central Committee proposed to "strengthen Party building in new economic organizations, new social organizations, and new employment groups" and "promote the healthy development of flexible employment and new forms of employment." Further improving the ideological guidance, cohesion, and service of new employment groups, uniting them closely around the Party, and striving together to achieve the economic and social development goals of the "15th Five-Year Plan" period [1], are major theoretical and practical issues that must be properly addressed in advancing the new great project of Party building in the New Era.
To implement General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important requirements and the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, we must gain insight into the underlying laws, master the methodology, and treat the further improvement of ideological guidance, cohesion, and service for new employment groups as a systemic project. To exert collaborative force and promote overall progress through systemic thinking, the key is to properly grasp "four pairs of relationships": grasp the relationship between "Party building leadership" and "joint management," by both giving full play to the leading role of Party building departments and stimulating the initiative of industry departments, mass organizations [2], and grassroots organizations, effectively promoting the organic integration of Party building with professional operations to form a work pattern of multi-party linkage and coordinated effort; grasp the relationship between "ideological guidance" and "care and service," by focusing on winning hearts through care and service that "moistens things silently" [3], embedding leadership within service, while also being adept at using "soul-stirring" ideological education to guide new employment groups to consciously feel the Party's grace, listen to the Party, and follow the Party; grasp the relationship between the "invisible hand" and the "visible hand," by regulating interests through the market’s "invisible hand" while strengthening service management through the government’s "visible hand"; and grasp the relationship between "promoting development" and "preventing risks," by proactively assessing and defusing various latent risks in emerging fields while promoting healthy development and positive interaction between platform enterprises and new employment groups. Specifically, further efforts in the ideological guidance, cohesion, and service of new employment groups should focus on the following aspects.
Systematic analysis and accurate "protraiture." Accurately grasping the scale and distribution structure of new employment groups and scientifically defining their connotations and group characteristics is an important foundation for this work. Since new employment groups involve many fields, we should strengthen comprehensive comparative research from multiple perspectives. This includes analyzing the economic and social foundations of their formation; analyzing the relationship between cultivating new quality productive forces and the development of new business forms and employment groups; and analyzing the factors affecting ideological guidance and service work. We must create an accurate "portrait" of these groups in terms of platform carriers, labor relations, and employment methods, and systematically summarize the experiences and laws of this work. It should be noted that new employment groups are in a state of dynamic development. Therefore, we must analyze both current conditions and future trends, particularly the new changes brought by the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI). We must strengthen the assessment of trends in business formats, work models, and employment methods to ensure that service management is more targeted, timely, and effective.
Optimizing systems and protecting rights. New employment groups have new demands regarding labor relations and social security. We must start with laws, regulations, institutional mechanisms, and regulatory norms to promote the establishment of a rights protection system that fits their characteristics and needs. For example, regarding labor relations, we should explore ways within the current labor legal system to include workers in new employment forms—who do not fully meet the criteria for traditional labor relations—into the scope of institutional protection. In terms of social security, we should encourage and support flexible and new-form employment personnel to participate in employee insurance. Regarding platform algorithms, we should further promote the optimization of algorithmic rules, increase transparency and fairness, and protect employees' right to know, participate, and choose. This will effectively safeguard the legal rights of laborers in areas such as remuneration, health, education, and safety, promoting win-win development for platform enterprises, operators on the platforms, and laborers.
Solving difficulties and providing care. New employment groups are both creators and sharers of a better life. We must embed leadership and cohesion within care and service, warming and uniting hearts through subtle, "silent" influence. In recent years, while the working environment and service management for these groups have improved, a gap remains relative to their needs. We must further mobilize the government, society, industry, and enterprises to respond to concerns and solve practical difficulties. We should foster a friendly atmosphere of respect, understanding, and acceptance, create friendly "scenarios" in business districts, communities, and office buildings, and build a development ecosystem of regional friendliness and positive interaction. Given that the work of new employment groups is often temporary or transitional, we should leverage platform enterprise training and public employment services to improve mechanisms for career planning and skill enhancement, helping them expand their space for development.
Integrating into social governance and playing an important role. As an essential component of urban operation, new employment groups are deeply embedded in all aspects of social development. With their wide range of activities, high mobility, and rapid information access, they are an important force upon which social governance can rely. Currently, various regions are building platforms, creating rich scenarios, and perfecting long-term mechanisms based on industry characteristics and professional advantages, encouraging these groups to play a broader role in grassroots, industry, and internet governance. Practice has proven that by cultivating advanced models, conducting social civilization publicity and education, and building social governance brands, we can further stimulate the "sense of ownership" among new employment groups, fully mobilizing their enthusiasm, initiative, and creativity.
Organizational coverage and strengthening leadership. The key to ideological guidance and service for new employment groups lies in political leadership and political identity; the vital prerequisite is achieving the "tangible and effective coverage" of Party organizations and Party work. Party building in emerging fields has a relatively weak foundation, and the complexity of these industries poses challenges to traditional organizational methods. We must target the distribution and mobility of Party members within these groups, innovating flexible and efficient coverage methods to achieve both "tangible" (formal) and "effective" (functional) coverage. We should use information technology to explore new paths for education, organizational life, and management for Party members in these groups, and use organizational guidance and incentives to stimulate their internal motivation. This will enhance their identity consciousness and encourage "floating Party members" [4] within these groups to take the initiative to reveal their identities and play their roles to the full.
Improving mechanisms and pooling efforts. This work involves many functional subjects, a wide geographical range, and a long chain of links. It is necessary to strengthen cross-departmental and cross-regional linkage to pull together an overall force. Relevant departments and local authorities must take the initiative, adhering to the principle that "those who manage the industry must also manage Party building." Based on a clear division of responsibilities, everyone should perform their duties while collaborating in "joint management." We must improve coordination mechanisms between departments, localities, industries, and enterprises to solve the problem of "strips" (vertical silos) and "blocks" (horizontal silos) [5] managing only their own sections, thereby enhancing the comprehensiveness, systematicity, and "penetration" of management and service.
Looking to the future and promoting development. New employment groups emerged alongside the innovative use of information technology and will continue to evolve with it. Particularly as AI empowers all industries and gives rise to new sectors and models, the service content of these groups will become more deeply embedded in people's livelihoods and urban governance. Their roles will shift from single to pluralistic—from "service providers" to "safety officers," "information officers," and "publicity officers." They will become the "calling cards" of urban image, markers of social civilization, forces for social governance, and creators of a better life. As their numbers grow and the professional system matures, their requirements will jump from basic demands like pay and insurance to higher-level needs like legal protection and a friendly employment ecosystem. We must adapt to these changing needs, improve the social security system tailored to their characteristics, promote their healthy and orderly development, and enhance their sense of gain, happiness, and security.
Source: People's Daily (January 8, 2026) Web Editor: Hui Hui